Single-Use Washcloths

At the risk of being a cliche, I'll admit that this idea came to me in the shower. Most of the gyms (my current one included) I've ever worked out in have those wall-mounted shower gel pumps in the shower stalls. But it's not really gel as much as a watery soap, less viscous even than shampoo. So to actually get clean you need to pump out one handful and apply. Again. And again. And again. I usually quit after one set of 12 reps. But I don't feel especially clean because I don't get a good lather and have no appreciable exfoliating. Either would be acceptable: visible lather would convince me psychologically that I'm clean; a good scrubbing would do the same empirically. But because there is neither, the shower is highly unsatisfying.

My dad used to carry handkerchiefs. Not pocket squares to add a splash of color to your suit jacket, but actual handkerchiefs to be used for blowing one's nose. The progressive world has now given us paper tissues. I'm told the diapers I wore as a baby were cloth. So were the dustrags I used as a boy to earn my allowance, and the napkins I set the family dinner table with.

You can make just about anything of paper nowadays, so why are there no paper single-use washcloths? I know there are baby-wipes repositioned as disposable washcloths, but that's not the same thing. When I'm showering at the gym, or in a hotel, I don't want to feel (and smell) like I have a medical condition. And the thought of using a washcloth that the last person who stayed in this room may have used is just icky to think about.

I'm talking about something that looks like a loofah (or maybe is a loofah, just a really small one that falls apart after one use), and gets me clean like a loofah. I want to feel the way I do when I get out of my shower at home, not like a leather car seat does after it's been detailed.

My guess is that making such a product is not the stumbling block. Adoption by a couple of key customer segments is the challenge. I've identified them as gyms and hotels, but maybe there are other applications. Why should these institutions adopt Single-Use Washcloths? Here are some thoughts:

• Service component: they create a more pleasurable experience
• Potential cost savings: may allow for reduced consumption of shower gel in gyms, and lower laundry expenses in hotels (though my guess is that the added cost of the product would offset any losses, and that this is the major obstacle towards manufacturing and adoption)
• Environmentally friendly: especially if they are recycled/recyclable, or even biodegradable (sometimes in marketing environmental green trumps even economic green).

So if anyone knows if these things exist already do let me know. At the very least, I'd buy a case or two myself to bring to throw in my gym bag or my dopp kit.